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The Discovery: Chapter 4-Plans
Posted By: strategyfreak<strategyfreak2002@yahoo.com>
Date: 8 August 2002, 7:55 pm
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"-which is why we have to strike their homeworld as soon as possible," Admiral Stanforth explained as he sat in the briefing room of the Maw with the two SPARTANs and the entire ship's company of Marines. "We can't risk having the Covenant attacking us. Even with the new Super MAC guns and the lunar guns, this is what would happen if a Covenant strike force of 200 ships, which I presume they still have, would do." He gestured toward a holoprojector in the middle of the room. A simulated battle sprang on, with the two sides clearly visible. The Chief, James and the Marines all watched in horror as the Covenant vessels destroyed ship after ship. Although taking heavy losses, they destroyed all the orbital and lunar guns with two dozen remaining ships, which glassed the holographic Earth.
"Thank you, Cortana, for creating this holographic simulation. For your information, people, with her knowledge of Covenant tactics this simulation is 93.7% accurate. Some of you might think we can sit around and build more ships, but without any more major shipyards, we can't just wait for more ships to roll of the production line. Now, as you know, we have captured an intact Covenant cruiser and a live Elite! Our scientists have successfully developed a shield system for ships. The Maw will be the first to use this new technology. The SPARTAN's suits also have shields, but we had trouble creating it for conventional Marines. With the captured Elite's armor, we found that there was a different type of Covenant shield that could be easier to mass-produce. Cortana will explain further on this matter." the Admiral directed their attention to the AI, who was hovering above the holoprojector.
She point to a nearby viewscreen that contained the blueprints for an armor suit. "This will be your new armor, Marines. It has the new integrated shield system. It will not be as powerful as the SPARTAN's," She stopped to point at them before continuing. "The old Marine armor could not support even the smallest shields, so we expanded the battery pack's size to support a small shield. It will provide more protection, though, as will your suit itself. We managed to research the Elite's combat armor too, since this one was not killed and full of holes. The result is a lightweight and powerful alloy know as protitanium, which is much more resistant to high heat. The helmet also has extra armor and you can switch between a one eye or two eye HUD. The suit itself weighs 25 pounds, 5 pounds more than your old armor. I, for one, think the all the advancements and advantages make up for this. You'll get used to it. We are also working on a suit similar to the Chief's that can be vacuum-sealed against space or toxins. It will weigh approximately 6-8 pounds more than your new suit, but you won't require any special muscular enhancements like the Chief to use either one of these new suits."
As the AI finished talking, excited murmurs could be heard in the crowd of Marines, who all seemed eager to try on their new suits. Some stood up, requesting to check out the new armor. When the Admiral gave them permission, they all marched off to the Armory as quick as they could.
After a while, all the Marines were in their new suits. Cortana suggested a quick drill in the firing range of the cruiser. As they ran around, getting used to the increased weight, MC remarked to James, "You know, they look like us when we first got our armor."
"Yeah, and I think we actually might stand a chance now against the Covenant, both in space and on the ground!" he replied. *** Following an hour of toying around with their new suits, everybody filed back into the briefing room for information on their mission. Admiral Stanforth was waiting for them. When they all settled down, he began.
"Men, our mission is a highly unusual and dangerous one. It will require a great amount of skill, power, and luck. Are you all ready for this?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"All right then. Settle down and listen, because this will take a while. As you know, we have the coordinates to the Covenant's homeworld. The Covenant cruiser will slip in with a bunch of Marines and the two SPARTANs on board. We'll have the Elite too as identification. Once they slip in onto the planet, they will attempt to disable any planetary weapons they have and Cortana will disrupt communications. When they have caused chaos around the planet, the cruisers Aurora and the Maw will engage any enemy vessels as long as possible while the other ships will stay to guard Earth. These two ships will have double shields and an extra meter of armor in an attempt to last as long as possible in battle. While those ships are occupying the enemy ships, the SPARTANs and their team of Marines will try to capture the Covenant leadership or their "Prophet" caste and return before they are noticed. Know this, people, the window of opportunity is small on the planet. It is estimated those two ships can last at most two hours before having to jump out of the system because of critical damage. If you do not complete your task within that time, you will be on a hostile planet full of angry aliens, and there will not be sufficient time to get help to you. Good luck, men. You have four days to prepare."
After the Admiral finished his speech, the Marines piled out, muttering quietly amongst themselves. The two SPARTANs followed. Everyone, even the legendary super soldiers, was extremely nervous as they exercised for the following mission.
Around the Maw, all the ships were being refitted with the shields. The orbital guns also received the upgrade. Cargo ships headed toward all of the ships, bringing the new armor. All ships also received the new form of FTL travel adapted from the Covenant technology, the Slipspace modifiers. Morale was running high with all the improvements, and the fleet was readying for the attack on the Covenant.
"This mission can't have another snag! We've already lost one chance when Reach fell, but now we're ready, with new technology and extra help!" James said excitedly. He was confident that they would complete the mission that was assigned to the SPARTANs almost a four months ago. *** "We have more good news, people. Success has been made with experiments on plasma weapons. Here I have the MA5BP assault rifle. It looks pretty normal on the outside, but there is an extra battery pack on the outside. It charges the bullets with plasma, making it much more powerful. You will still need ammo clips and battery packs for it. We also have the M19P SSM Rocket Launcher, which, instead of containing explosives, can have its rockets charged in plasma. It will require a large power cell, however, making it 4 pounds heaver than the M19. The damage caused will be devastating, making up for that. Finally, there is the M6DP Pistol. It utilizes the same plasma power-up the other two have, and the battery is integrated with the clip. It will be much smaller, and will only last 10 shots, which is the same amount of bullets this new clip has. Larger versions of this plasma technology will also be mounted on all remaining UNSC ships and the orbital and lunar guns." A weapons tech walked around the briefing room, holding up various weapons.
"Are we going to use these on our mission?" asked a Marine.
"Yes. It will be substantially more effective against the Covenant shields of the Jackal and Elite types. Also, it will be more damaging against the Hunters, so you don't have to take a lot of ammo to take one down of those things," replied the tech.
As the troops ran to the firing range to test their new weapons, most of them were thinking that the mission was perfect. With all the new stuff, what could go wrong? Only the Spartans and veteran Marines knew that the mission could turn around in an instant.
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